Preamble: (questions below)
So I finally finished my first playthrough (BG 1+2 as Baldur's Gate Trilogy mod)
Took limited mods on the first playthrough (fixes and just a few tweaks from the tweak-pack) and was playing Neutral Good (I enjoy stealing from the rich and giving to my worthy quest too much to play lawful ;) )
Had the 'canon' party for BG1 and near as for BG2 (swapping in Aerie and Keldorn) (romanced Jaheira).

So, no sooner did I finish TOB than I got all nostalgic for Candlekeep ... ok, maybe not Candlekeep... Beregost? And I'd been thinking all along about how to play an evil party for my next play-through so I decided to just leave my backlog on the back and go again (I must be nuts but hey).

I've started a 'test' game (not far in and can easily restart if advice is taken) with a thief PC (well, fighter to be dualled to thief after 3 levels for proficiency and restriction reasons) and probably to be 'Assassin' class (may need Shadowkeeper to help with that dual).

For BG1 NPCs I'm thinking Montaron and Xzar (so far I'm loving the banters from the banter-pack I just installed). Shar-Teel for the main fighter (swapping her portraits and trying the romance from the 'BG1 NPC-pack'), Viconia and Edwin (mostly taking Edwin as another mage as he's in BG2 and I'd like the continuity)

Questions:
BG1
1) Are there other evil NPC's you'd rather take and why?

2) Monty and Xzar are complaining about not going to Nashkel already (I've been skirting the edges of areas, avoiding fights where possible, to get to Shar-Teel and Viconia before doing any quests) - is it enough to 'start' the quest (by talking to the mayor in Nashkel) or do I need to finish the mines before they stop complaining/leave?

BG2
3) I've read there are a limited number of BG2 evil-NPCs - are any of the mod-NPC's any good? If not, who would you take to round out an evil party?

Both
4) What 'evil' mods, if any, are good? I've found "Assassinations" which sounds good - any other recommendations?

(apologies if these have been asked before - 'search' doth not search thoroughly)

You may want to take Kaigan before recruiting Shar-Teel. He's an excellent fighter. But if you meta-game and go straight for Shar-Teel I guess it doesn't matter.

I highly recommend using the BG1 NPC Project mod. Xzar and Monty really shine when using it.
And having Tiax as a temporary member is very amusing.

There are no modded NPCs worth taking, IMO. Too much modding talent is sadly wasted on romances. OK, Kelsey may be worth it if you like ginger sorcerors. He's True Neutral though, IIRC.
In BG 2 bring along Korgan. He's a mean fighter, fun and excellently voice acted.
Being evil, I suppose you will not allow that annoying little brat Imoen cramp your style? And since there are no evil thief NPCs in BG2, bring along Jan Jansen (Chaotic Neutral, I think). He's very amusing, and has some nice special abilities.

1) I would take Kagain (the dwarven fighter in Beregost). Has 20 constitution. Give him the gauntlets of dexterity and full plate and he's indestructible. He would obviously replace Shar-Teel in your lineup.

2) Not sure, but I will guess that yes it is.

3) (You+Korgan+Viconia+Edwin) + Yoshimo until you get Imoen back + Jan Jansen. In TOB swap Imoen or Jan out for Mr. S.

4) Can't think of any, but if you want more of a challenge this time around, try Sword Coast Stratagems.

I would keep Shar-Teel for the romance.

Thanks for the input :)

Re: get Kagain first - as it turns out I can get to both Viconia and Shar-Teel by skirting the outsides of the areas and then only encounter one fight against a couple of Gnolls (by going the long way round - damn basilisks). So I've gone with that option.
I just like to get my final party together as soon as I can so I can guide their development.

I think I'll stick with Shar-Teel ahead of Kagain. Sure, Kagain has great stats but I don't need that, having beaten the game once and having a decent idea of strategy now (ST looks ok and I'd like to see how she plays out with Angelo later).

As for Imoen in BG2 - well, I played with her on my 'good-aligned' 1st play-through so yeah, I'll skip her on this one (took her at the beginning of this play-through just to have a side-kick with a short-bow until I got more backup - will drop her for Edwin). Had Yoshimo too the first time but if my PC is going to be thief class then I don't really need another one. Jan might be interesting to have along though and CN-aligned could fit with my party, thanks.

And yeah - I'll swap Mr S. in at TOB.

Ok, seems like I don't need to restart and I'll go with what I've got installed and be as evil as I can, thanks :) Is it well written? So far all I've heard from her is that she hates men LOL (just general comments, romance hasn't started yet - only just picked her up).

She is easy to get into the sack, but much harder to get her to like & confide in you.
But if she does, it goes some way to explaining why she is the way she is.

groovy, I'll give it a go, cheers :)

I personally would take the dwarf over Shar-teel, stats or no. He is IMHO just a better character. Of course you could always take both...?

'Evil' RPCs are few and far between in both BG games. To the extent that you literally HAVE to take a non-evil member to fill out your ranks at some point or the other. My first time beating the game(BG1) was with an attempted 'evil' party(Kagain, <charname>, Edwin, that evil gnome guy in BG(the city) and... I don't remmeber who else).

If I take Kagain as well I'd have to drop the pair of Monty+Xzar (and they're just too darn funny). (I want to keep Edwin and Viconia for continuity with BG2 - playing with BGT preserves their end-states through to the next game (stats, spells, etc but not equipment)).

If I did take Kagain then I could fill the other spot with Tiax (the crazy gnome cleric/illusionist you mentioned) but there's always the 3rd playthrough... ;)


Side note:
Found another evil-mod
"morrow gate" - seems to be unfinished but apparently what's in there works.
It adds some optional evil-classes for Druids and Paladins, which I'm not using, and looks to add an 'evil-stronghold' to BG2 in the form of being able to side with the gnome in the circus tent in SOA. I don't think it has many quests associated and the mod seems not to have been touched since 2008 but it's better than nothing.

available at:
http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG2/index_mods_hosted_misc2.php

Has anyone played with this? - any good? (or evil as the case may be :P )

Never heard of that mod. But if it's not really finished, I'd advice you to not even try it.

I've played the Shar-Teel romance for a bit (not to the conclusion), and I just don't like her. Her stats are not impressive either, so that's my reasoning for taking Kagain instead. But it doesn't really make a difference in the long run.

Also, it's not really a good idea to keep adding mods in the middle of a game.

And when I play an evil char, I don't really have a problem using a good aligned NPC... key word is "using". They're not my friends, they're just there to get the job done. And even if you are evil, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that you'd keep Imoen around - as long as someone didn't offer a high price on her.

Argh, I will stop rambling now.

I've done a couple of evil games.

As far as BG1 NPCs go,

Edwin, Viconia, Kagain, and Shar-Teel seem to be the best. Monty, Xzar, Eldoth, and Tiax aren't the best NPCs out there, but they can still be a lot of fun.

For my evil playthrough, my PC was an Assassin (used Tutu), and I had Kagain and Shar-Teel, Viccy, Edwin, and Eldoth, who I used as an archer (even though his DEX sucks) and to support Edwin's casting.

Tiax is probably the worst (12 WIS on a Cleric?), and you get him at a point in the game where you've probably filled out your party anyway.

In BG2:

No need to round out your party unless you want to. Edwin, Viccy and Korgan are the three best NPCs in the game and will easily flatten everything in their paths. Having only four party members means significantly more XP which means they'll get even stronger even faster.

Korgan especially is unfathomably powerful: he was able to solo Firkraag at level 10 and can easily bring down the Demilich on his own as well. His saving throws are so high that he resists many crippling magic effects, and his incredible stats means that he can easily handle any physical threat.

Edwin's bonus spells per level is insanely powerful. Getting 4(!) spell slots for Level 8 and 9 spells immediately is absurd.

What's so great about Viconia?
In my last BG 2 game I finally brought her along, with Korgan, Jan, Edwin and last one I don't remember. Of these she was defintely the weakest character and hardest to keep alive, although her magic resistance helped her some times.

Sorry, I meant to note that Viccy is the best cleric in the game. She's not going to be doing the most damage, but you're probably going to need a cleric, and she'll do a better job at that than anyone else.

Yeah, I guess there isn't much competition for Viccy. In BG 1 you could always bring along Branwen, but in BG 2 I can't even think of a neutral cleric.

I remember I had to use the Girdle of the Dwarves (I think that's what it was called) every so soften to increase Viccy's hit points as well as her chances of survival.

In BG2 the only other clerics period are Anomen and Aerie. The former's got a horribly underwhelming 12 WIS, the latter levels up too slowly. At 18 WIS and 19 DEX, Viccy's looking pretty good. Her awful STR holds her back, but fortunately that's the easiest stat in the game to boost. Heck, give her Crom Faeyr and have her memorize a couple of Draw Upon Holy Might, Holy Power, and maybe a Righteous Magic or two and she'll be able to do some serious damage.